The Fall
by Bohyne
Summary: A blood elf gladiator finds himself in an unlikely situation and at the mercy of his rival. What started as a small favor turns into a major problem involving the Lich King, arena seasons and Elune. Warnings: Erotica, violence, yaoi
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft.

"Common."

_"Assigned language."_

* * *

><p>Vael awoke with a start. It was a chilly morning in the lovely lands of Silvermoon and the birds were ready to begin their symphony. He leaned his head to the side with a long slender ear towards the window, planning to hear them. His eyes became glued on the imagery, expecting bright sunset hues, but he sky was still dark and looked like it would remain that way.<p>

An old stable oak was stationed outside with a branch creeping into the room, the leaves were not orange. Or red. Not even magenta. Vael breathed in deeply and found the simple action hard to do. With a frown he fixed his blue eyes downward and tried to wiggle his toes. He regretted the thought immediately as not more than a second later a wave of pain raced through his entire body.

The blood elf took short shallow breaths, closed his eyes and tried to bear with it. He heard a rustle to his side, and despite the flaming pain everywhere, turned and opened an eye. A green haired night elf stared back at him, her silver eyes wide open and her mouth formed a silent "O".

_"Uuuncle! He woke up, what do I do?"_ The night elf eyed the door and then returned to staring at him. Vael flinched when she spoke, her loud tone had shattered the silence and it was now bouncing back into a headache for him. But more importantly, who was this loud woman of the opposite faction and why wasn't he dead yet?

He could hear footsteps coming towards the room and immediately looked at the door when it opened. In came another night elf, tall and well built. His hair was tied back in a high ponytail and it was a rich green too. Vael blinked, he knew this man. In fact he had just fought him not too long ago in the previous tournament. How long... what... His heart started beating out of control.

_"Relax you're safe,"_ The night elf spoke in a strained orcish, but at least it was in his own language. Vael wanted to reply with something insulting but found he could barely open his mouth and his lips felt dry. He realized he was thirsty, hungry, in pain and his mind was in absolute chaos.

_"Uncle he doesn't look very relaxed,"_ The younger night elf piqued in. _"In fact I think he's about to spazzle out."_

Riyanis walked over to a firm wooden desk and started sorting through herbs, needles and some other mixtures he had made the day before. He shook his head at his niece's eagerness but welcomed it.

Vael didn't wait for the purple elves to assemble their torturing devices, so he took this chance and dove out the window. He would have gotten away if the smaller elf hadn't latched onto his waist immediately, so instead of flying out they both stumbled onto the floor.

He thought the pain before was unbearable, what he felt now made him want to vomit. His consciousness started slipping into a shadow he had grown to fear, the last thing he saw were a pair of worried silver eyes.

Rivanis was quick to move soon after that. He couldn't imagine how the blood elf managed to get out of bed or even move around. That had been close, far too close. His brother had been right when he suggested "roping him up."

_"Ali are you alright?"_ He asked her, patting down her nonexistent wounds.

_"Uuurgh Uuuncle, he's bleeding all over the floor,"_ She whined back, her hands flailed over the bleeding abdomen of the unconscious elf.

_"Go get me a fresh roll of bandaids. The white ones,"_ He said while carefully lifting the blood elf off the floor. _"And an enchanted mop while you're at it."_

Ali nodded furiously, her aquamarine hair bobbing out of formation, and ran to get the supplies.

_"Holy Elune Vael, you're nearly dead and the first thing you do is try to jump out the window,"_ He muttered, placing the frail elf back on the bed. His glowing eyes scanned over the lean body and deemed it malnourished, amongst other things.

A tiny path of blood ran down the blood elf's abdomen and onto the white sheets of the bed. Almost instantly they disappeared, leaving the faint air that magic had been at work. Rivanis tilted his head to get a better look and nearly growled_. "And you open up your wounds again."_

_"Uncle, Uncle, Uncle... ah what's wrong?"_ Ali cautiously approached him, rolls and a mop in hand. She peeked over his shoulder and her ears drooped. _"Oh not again!"_

He nodded and motioned for the smaller pool of blood on the floor._ "That first while I take off the old ones."_

She gave him a knowing look and he replied with a tiny smile._ "Gaah I never see you clean up anything Uncle, I never get to do the fun stuff."_ She set the mop down and zig zagged it across the smear. The blood disappeared almost instantly.

_"What does it look like I'm doing?"_ Rivanis carefully cut the bandages vertically and tossed the scraps onto the floor. Ali immediately ran her mop over them and once she was done there was no trace left behind. Her eyes shifted over to the blood elf and she stopped to examine the abdomen as her uncle had done.

There were angry red marks everywhere, forming into symbols and strategically placed cuts. She didn't know what the symbols stood for but she recognized the incisions made. They were mostly used in medical procedures, though in her mind someone had tried to flay the elf. Definitely.

Rivanis expertly willed the wound to stop oozing. He applied an odd smelling balm on top, just in case, and then started the tedious procedure of wrapping his patient up.

_"Uncle?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Uhm." _How could she ask him? She didn't even know what she wanted to ask first, but it had been bothering her._ "Uhmmm... well,"_

_"..."_

_"Uuuncle. Alright, first. I know who he is you know. And two, why is he here? What happened? And who did it?"_ Her eyes were wide with anticipation, but Rivanis only shook his head and chuckled. _"If he's alive are the others alive too? And where did Pa find him... he won't tell me,"_ She mumbled as an afterthought.

_"Well if he won't tell you then it's not my place to inform you. Tyrande herself has assigned him under my care, whatever the reason may be behind it, but at the moment my priority is to heal him. I can't answer half of those questions and the other half I'd rather not,"_ With that the tall night elf stood, draping a thick furry pelt over his patient. Ali was not satisfied with those answers, she stood with a mop in hand, pouting._ "That's not going to work..."_ She intensified her look. _"Now that's just ridiculous."_ They both bursted into laughter and resumed their routine.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVV

A couple of hours later the moon rose and settled in place. The stars kept it company and an occasional cloud would greet them. Vael's eyes fluttered open after a brief struggle with dried tears. His body felt limp and heavy and numb, he couldn't feel anything now. He saw the unmistakeable figure of his rival standing his side, reading a book, and though he wanted to get a decent hit on him, nothing twitched in response.

_"Your body refuses to heal at this point,"_ Rivanis started, in orcish. _"I've given you enough netherbloom to kill an elekk. But your chance of surviving is solid now."_

_"Wh-where..."_ Vael's voice felt foreign to him. It felt like an empty, dry echo and that surprised him.

_"You are safe,"_

_"...wh...why...?"_ Hardly a whisper.

_"Do not get the wrong idea. It's all done because you may prove to be useful to the Alliance."_ Rivanis cut straight to the point. The last thing he wanted was the sin'dorei thinking it was personal.

Vael remained silent after that, as he was unable to conquer enough energy to start a conversation. He felt an ill-boding feeling rise at the pit of his stomach, but didn't have time to dwell on it once the darkness started pulling him into a soothing embrace.

He could hear the King laugh at him in his dreams. He also heard his comrade's desperate cry for help and the powerless feeling that followed. He was being chased in this dream, like in so many others, but always something seemed to change. This one unfortunately turned for the worst, soon enough clawed hands from the darkness reached out for him, they wanted his light. They craved for his attention.

Rivanis watched the elf whimper and struggle against an imaginary force. He reconsidered his brother's advice on strapping him, but changed his mind again thinking it as... unethical... not his way of doing things. He sighed, lightly placed a hand on Vael's torso, and started channeling a soothing healing spell.

As expected the healing component bounced off in a similar fashion oil stands over water, but the calming part made it through. The sin'dorei stopped struggling against his nightmares, his face now calm and blissful. Rivanis took note of his fair features and considered his work done for the time being.

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><p>And that's that. Don't forget to leave a review, opinions or comments. Don't be afraid to point stuff out to me, I strive for improvement.<p>

Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft.

"Common."

_"Assigned language."_

_'Thoughts.'_

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><p>Rivanis crushed the peacebloom with the pestle. Two days had passed since his patient had woken up somewhat conscious. Instead of tying him up he decided it was best to introduce a tranquilizer. The first time he had tried to administer the solution Vael responded by kicking the syringe out of his hand. Rivanis had thought about strangling the elf to death but his common sense won over.<p>

Now he stood in front of a wooden desk, back to the blood elf, mixing a sort of numbing mixture to keep the elf with enough energy to wake up and blink now and then, but not enough to move a limb. It was just what he needed really, Rivanis was a healer not a baby sitter. He couldn't risk having him jump out the window or worse, having his niece get hurt. Even if he was taking care of him, Vael had proved to be a worthy opponent in the past and now turned out to be a real pain. Any unfortunate incidents could be avoided very easily, many people underestimated peaceblooms.

Rivanis's long lavender ears flicked at the sound of footsteps rushing up. The door creaked and in came Ali holding an intravenous drip in a bowl of water.

"Good morning," she said, a bright smile blooming on her face.

_"Good morning."_

"Not you Uncle, pshh I already said hi to you, remember?" she stuck her tongue out playfully, setting the bowl next to the mortar and pestle. "Breakfast today is hmmm a hydrating solution!"

Rivanis glanced to the bed to confirm that Vael was indeed awake and glaring before chanting a small spell over the mortar. The liquid came on top of the crushed and smeared leaves much like oil would set on water. He then inserted the milky green liquid into the IV from a tube, and set the bag on a rolling stand. Here came the difficult part.

He had opened his mouth to ask the sin'dorei to cooperate but before he got anything out the elf bluntly stated "No."

Vael was lucid enough to tell what was going on. He had paled considerably when the younger night elf set the bag down and the contrast made the dark circles under his eyes stand out. His stomach had tightened at the sight of a needle and he had spent the next minute trying to convince his mind that it was alright, it was just a needle.

His mind responded with brief flashbacks of the citadel, a rotting man had simply jabbed the syringe in back then. Said syringe numbed the body but left the mind intact. Vael would then spend the next hour, or day, staring at the ceiling while feeling the incisions being made to his body. Sometimes the Professor would purposely inject him with that numbing agent only to have him witness the same thing being done to his sister... or his teammates.

He had long ago stopped trying to make sense out of it. None of it was fair, none of it made sense. The man was clearly insane. But brilliant, if the Lich King kept him around. A terrible combination.

"I'll uh, cover his eyes and you put it in okay?" Ali didn't wait for his Uncle's approval, the blood elf's reaction unnerved her. It only encouraged her belief that something terrible must have happened to him. She had worked with torture victims before, the behavior was similar, even if it was in response to different things. Maybe he got mangled, cut to pieces and then stitched back. Or skinned alive and then glued back whole. Her silvery glowing eyes gave her Uncle a last glance before she set to work.

Ali quickly lunged for the sin'dorei's face, her palm immediately covered the eyes and her other arm meanwhile grabbed Vael's other arm, which had flailed automatically as if to rip her throat out. Rivanis acted quickly too. He focused his energy on the muscle to calm and find the vein, when he did he pushed the bandage aside and expertly inserted the needle.

Despite all of his paladin training and thoughtful meditations done to calm the mind, Vael panicked. His first instinct had been to gauge the elf woman's eyes out and then hurl her body across towards Rivanis. He only found enough strength to hold her neck in a weak grip and gave a sharp gasp as the needle was put in. Vael's hand fell limp to his side, his body relaxed and an even breathing resumed.

"Ah... he fainted..." Ali muttered, rubbing her neck thoughtfully. _'And now I'm in deep shit.'_ As her human friends would say.

_"Aliane Starbrook."_ The tone indicated that her father would hear of this. She slowly turned her head, a pitiful apologetic look on her face._ "Don't ever. EVER. Do that again. That could have been a crushed windpipe, or a scarred face. Just because he looks like he is defenseless does not mean he can't do either of those things. He was a gladiator at some point and incase you forgot what that means I'll remind you: he knows how to effectively and swiftly kill people. People like you."_

Rivanis took a deep breath in. He wanted to continue, really wanted to but he felt he had had this talk with her before. When a recovering human rogue had tried to take advantage of her kindness, if he remember correctly. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, willing the built up tension to rinse off and then turned to face Vael.

The response to the needle had made him raise an eyebrow. Never in a thousand years would he had thought that the ex-gladiator was afraid of needles.

"But you're one too..." Ali mumbled, kicking invisible dust with the foot hanging from the bed. Rivanis didn't let her see the fond smile that graced his face. They all had their number of wins. Rivanis had started even before the arena masters started calling the years of high arena activity into 'seasons.' After that it became a sort of... phenomenon. Cities started hosting tournaments and it drew enough people to make it into something worldwide. The promises of gold, drakes and fame drew interesting competitors. Amongst them a group of stray blood elves that took two consecutive wins. That had been before the incident.

A shadow crossed his face as the memories resurfaced. He had lost dear companions that season too.

"Gosh Uncle I'm still alive you know..." she stopped that sentence when he fixed her with a serious contemplative look. "I'm sorry I'll be more careful from now on."

"Gosh..." Rivanis repeated, more to himself than anyone else. The word sounded foreign and strange on his tongue, definitely human. "Go get ready for school. I'm sure Master Jadetalon will be as eager to teach you as you are for learning."

VVVVVVVVVVV

"The northern scouts have not reported anything out of the ordinary. The west scouts are missing and the south scouts got recalled, as you ordered," a tall burly man with an eyepatch saluted the King of Stormwind one more time to end his report.

Varian sat on his throne, palm on his chin and with a bored look on his face. SI had informed him about the missing scouts about a week earlier. Subjects like the Lich King and Horde actions depended on trained spies, not scouts-in-training. He had ordered a raid on the citadel and they came back with favorable results that raised more questions. An entire wing of the cursed dominion had been claimed by the Alliance, it now served as a resting post while he gathered his forces for the final assault.

They had found a laboratory with hints of powerful abominations being created at some point. The documents searched indicated that these new monsters were made to take out large forces, more specifically, the Lich King had taken precautions against the raids.

"Dismissed."

The armored man saluted one last time, bowed and walked away. A commotion then erupted down the hall and already Varian could feel the starting of a headache. _'What is it this time?'_ He wondered._ 'Probably a peasant coming to complain about taxes. Again.'_

What greeted took him by surprise. Before him was a man dressed in black armor, pale skin and glowing blue eyes. His mere presence shouted death and necromancy, and Varian could not fathom why this being had not been slain on the spot.

"You have mere moments to live."

VVVVVVVVVVV

"Good evening Vael, did you sleep well?" Rivanis did not wait for a response, knowing full well there wasn't going to be one. Vael in the meantime had a still look in his eyes, one the druid couldn't quiet place. The peacebloom mixture had worn off an hour before and the blood elf had kept silent with a traumatized look. He waved his hand in front of him, just to make sure it wasn't anything serious, and was relieved to have his complete attention. "I will explain what I will do now for obvious reasons. If you don't cooperate..."

Vael tuned him out then, already having a pretty good idea of what would happen if he didn't 'cooperate.' He had woken up feeling like a stuffed mushroom and had been reliving his nightmares ever since. At the moment he couldn't help but think about his time in Icecrown and wonder if anyone else had made it out alive.

Rivanis's eyebrow twitched from annoyance, he knew that look, it was the same one Ali gave him when she was done listening to reason. He waved his hand again and Vael responded by frowning as best as he could.

Without warning Rivanis moved to the elf's side, lifted the warm fuzzy sheet to expose a bandaged leg, and began to unwrap it. Vael hissed as the bandage lifted old dried blood but otherwise remained attentive. The druid's gentle healing magic started digging into the ankle and the cuts started glowing but not sealing.

The sin'dorei struggled to stay still as the healing energies rose upwards with a fresh wave of pain. His body was not liking the healing and frankly neither was he.

_"I bet you have no idea what you're doing, healing never hurt so much before. Unless it's a form of advanced torture in that case you get points for being creative. Aaah! You did that on purpose,"_ Vael squirmed as he complained, glaring at the night elf while he was at it. He wrestled his leg free and spouted a string of curses in Thalassian.

"I know you speak Common." Rivanis forcefully grabbed his ankle and looked at his work. He had barely made any progress, the wounds were just not healing. The body needed a break. It was unable to regenerate at a rapid pace because too much healing had been done in such a short amount of time. The spirit was left weak and needed time to replenish. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as was his habit and then turned to look at Vael.

Vael was paler than usual and stared at him intently, awaiting his next move. His leg slowly creeped back under the covers the same way he was trying to put distance between them.

"How did I end up here?" Vael asked, trying to sound casual. As casual as one gets when sitting across someone who would at some point in the past would have tried to do anything to kill him.

"The more you move the more you risk opening your wounds. You can't afford to lose any more blood, I don't exactly have a supply of sin'dorei blood you know. And to answer your question, my brother dropped you off," Rivanis stood only to take a seat by the table. He crossed his arms in front of his broad chest and started thinking up of alternatives to this case. A normal healing approach was just not cutting it.

Vael shook his head, that had not been the answer he was expecting or wanting to hear.

"Before that though..." he was unable to finish the sentence. A part of him didn't want to know what happened though the other part was dying to know if his sister was alive too. The night elf stared at him intently and Vael fidgeted under his gaze. "Never mind."

"You need more sleep," Rivanis stated suddenly, completely ignoring him. He nodded as if reassuring himself. It only made sense, the body needed time to regenerate and sleep was the best way to go. Vael wanted to yell at him out of frustration but the energy just wasn't there. The small amount of healing was starting to take its toll, by now he felt he had worked out for hours. Sleep sounded strangely welcoming. "Good night."

Vael was surprised when Rivanis simply got up and left. Just like that. He eyed the window, followed a path to the door and then started coming up with possibilities. This night elf was his enemy and rival, despite actions stating otherwise, he was set to die in this place. Or tree. Burrow. Whatever he was in.

The room smelled like wood and antiseptic with a trace of the dreaded peacebloom. It was very quiet outside, a couple of insects chirped now and then and his sensitive ears could pick up the sound of a stream nearby. He closed his eyes briefly and all plans of escaping were, for the time being, forgotten.

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><p>Don't be afraid to review, let me know what you think!<p>

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft.

"Common."

_"Assigned language."_

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><p><em>"Well?"<em> a deep masculine voice inquired.

"Well what?" Rivanis replied. He turned the warm cup of tea in his hands to get a new warm spot. It was little things like these that made his day go smoother. Most of the time he would just make the tea to enjoy the scent and the warm cup because the taste was usually terrible, even by night elf standards. Only old druids enjoyed the bitter taste of root, that was his theory.

His silver eyes then shifted to address the speaker sitting across him. The night elf was about the same height as he, sported a darker shade of green in his braided hair and wore heavy leather. Falendor crossed his massive arms in front of his chest and gave Rivanis an unimpressed look.

"I wouldn't say he is completely stable. In the past month there have been many times I believed he was dead. He regained consciousness about two days ago," he left it at that, finding the still surface of his tea more interesting. Rivanis had yet to tell his older brother that his only daughter had had a near death experience recently, although from past encounters he wondered if he would bother to act surprised.

"...aaand?" Falendor motioned for him to go on with a flick of his wrist, annoyance and curiosity were entwined together in the small gesture.

"He's not healing, even after a healing induced comma. So I'm guessing he was meant to die from those cuts, or something else was keeping him alive. Like some sort of runic mana mixture," he shrugged and reestablished eye contact. "It was in his blood... Now I know you've been itching to tell me something..."

The corner's of the older kaldorei's lips twitched upwards, his brother was terrible at subtly changing the topic. Rivanis did not falter. They knew each other far too well.

"Well I'll say it straight up. A large part of the Lich King's best warriors have abandoned him. Though abandon may come off as strong. Deserted is more like it," he let a short pause walk by. "They have returned to their former factions and are called death knights. King Varian is planning an immediate assault, but Tyrande urges him to wait. This is the part I ask you about Vael again."

Rivanis took a long sip, grimacing at the taste of it. Death knights? More like a well set up trap of sorts. Falendor leaned towards him, his deep voice deliberately low and hardly a whisper.

"And she won't tell me why I need to keep asking you. Though I did find out Cassandra's alive."

Rivanis stilled at the mention of the human. Cassandra, leader of an all-female team and more bloodthirsty than the average gladiator. She had the strength of two men and quite the reputation. They sat in a thoughtful and confident silence as they processed the information. More questions were formed and hardly any answers were provided.

"I must leave now Brother, before they start wondering where I went. Until we meet again," He held Rivanis's shoulder in a strong grasp before taking out his hearthstone. "Icecrown, in case you were wondering. And I know you were."

This time it was Rivanis's lips that tugged upward.

OoOoOoOoO

Vael felt that no matter the time of day the sun never showed up. It was always dreary and green. Green was everywhere, it was like their theme color and being a family of druids reinforced that. He was feeling less lethargic and far more aware of his surroundings, either a sign he was getting better or simply the 'anesthesia' had worn off.

The kaldorei had come in once that day to take his pulse. It was probably the middle of the day for all Vael knew, but other than the standard greeting Rivanis offered that Vael did not return, nothing else had been said. The sin'dorei had watched him work as he laid in bed unable to do much. The tall night elf had a firm and structured way of doing things, he noted.

The door gave the slightest creak as it was opened and Ali ran in with the brightest smile Vael had ever seen. She bounced up and down out of pure excitement from seeing him awake.

"Good afternoon. Today in school I came to the sudden realization that I never formally introduced myself," she took a tiny breath and continued. "My name is Ali and I'm a priestess-in-training. I'm Uncle Rivanis's assistant, but it's not official or anything. It's only while I figure out what path to take, what's with that face? Don't worry I know what I'm doing," she moved closer to him and in one swift movement plucked the IV needle out of his arm.

Vael stared at her with annoyance and distrust fully embedded in his eyes. She caught his look and raised a long, curved eyebrow.

"What? Would you like me to fluff your pillow?" she asked sweetly, ignorant of his true thoughts. His stomach growled in respond and Vael couldn't help but to look downwards at the soft sheet and frown at it. Her silvery eyes widened at the realization. "Oh my gosh, you're hungry. Alright I can do that, stay here!" And with that she raced out of the room.

"Stay here," he repeated in a high pitched mocking voice. Vael felt his stomach twist and tighten and he grimaced. _'What a ridiculous situation'_ he thought, lightly running a hand through his hair. He froze when he felt that his hair did not have the normal texture he was used to. It was no longer soft and silky but instead dry and... greasy. And probably dirty, but he didn't have a mirror to tell.

"I'm baaack, you're absolutely in luck. So I went downstairs..." Vael pulled his fingers back and rubbed them together, giving the oily substance a horrified look. His beautiful silky hair was ruined. "It's quite tasty..." He grabbed a handful of the once-golden mane and opened his mouth to say something but found nothing coming out. "Open wiiide!"

"Shut up," he snapped at her, glaring with all the force he could muster. "Just shut up, you stupid skanky night elf bitch."

He looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon and found a pestle. The minute he made the move to grasp it a translucent blue cord materialized and held his arm back. Vael and Ali blinked, neither one had expected that to happen.

Ali caught on however, she followed his gaze to the pestle and figured she was about to get beaten to death by a stick. She moved the pestle out of the way and gave him a small smile.

Vael stared at the magical cord with disbelief. His arm slumped to his side and he resumed his hollow staring, defeated for the time being.

"Oh hi Uncle,"

Neither had heard the other night elf come in.

"What were you doing?" Rivanis eyed the bowl in her hands before looking at Vael. "Well you look terrible. Did you get any sleep?"

"Pray tell, why the hell would would care?" His accent unintentionally came out too strong though that did not hinder the message.

"You're under my care and while that remains I need to make sure you don't die overnight. I mean it's not like anyone would know, after all you're dead to the world."

Something about the last bit really stung.

"What?" Vael gave up his pretend 'uncaring anti-social' act. His ears straightened and he frowned, thinking he had misheard.

"Did he eat anything?" Rivanis turned towards his niece who happened to be fidgeting nervously behind him.

_"No."_

Vael aimed a weak glare at her direction. It's not like he had expected her to lie or anything, he wasn't even mad at her, he was angry because the other elf had ignored him the way mothers did when their children kept begging for a toy.

"_Alright __give __me __that, __the __quicker __he __gets __off __the __liquid __diet __the __better,__"_ Rivanis turned to face Vael, bowl in hands and with a look that made the sin'dorei nervous. Surely he wasn't going to...? "You will either eat this, well drink really, without any commotion or I will shove it down your throat until it settles in your stomach." Rivanis had no intention of going through with the latter, but the blood elf didn't need to know that.

Vael's upper right brow twitched in disbelief. He heard the aquamarine-haired elf quietly step out and shut the door, smart girl.

"_I __can't __believe __this __is __happening __to __me,__"_ he slumped where he laid, ignoring the way his tangled hair clumped on the pillow. Rivanis took a spoonful of the soup and offered it slowly, he already knew this wasn't going to work, and he had haf-expected the outburst that followed.

The magical blue cords materialized again, triggered by the quick violent movement of Vael trying to either kick his side. Unlike before however, a rapid wave of pain shot up from his leg and settled in his stomach, forcing him to keep still and take shallow breaths. He held his stomach and moaned in pain, now fully feeling the wounds that hid behind the bandages protest.

Vael felt something settle on his back and an instant later a numbing energy trailed down into his being and calmed the pain. After a few seconds the magic bounced back and settled on his skin, his body refusing to take any more of it. It was an odd sensation he was used to. As a blood elf he came in contact with magic on a daily basis, it felt like thickened water with a weak charge of electricity. Many thoughts raced in his head and all of them bred confusion and questions.

Rivanis brushed his emerald hair out of his eyes and behind his ears. He waited patiently for the sin'dorei to settle down before moving away.

He tapped a finger on his chin, expression in deep contemplation and eyes staring at Vael.

"Back to liquids I guess," he muttered and turned to leave.

"Wait,"

Rivanis curiously looked over his shoulder.

"I'll... eat it..." It took all his will power to say it even if he didn't want to admit it. Anything was better than an IV, he didn't want to feel it being plunged into his arm or the flashbacks that followed after.

The druid raised a long eyebrow, briefly taken back by the request. Then he realized why and felt a tiny twinge of guilt. He picked up the bowl and was pleased to find it was still warm. Rivanis held the spoon to the blood elf's lips and Vael willingly obliged.

Vael flushed crimson from embarrassment and humiliation. He avoided looking at the silver eyes for fear of what he might find. Arrogance? Smugness? Satisfaction? This was so shameful though the soup was not that bad, if anything it was delicious and for a brief second he was glad to taste it. What had been the last thing he ate before the trip up in Icecrown? He pushed the thoughts away and took another spoonful.

The soup had gone down the wrong path once and after he had coughed it up Rivanis simply wiped his face clean with a soft tissue. His face was burning from the idea of getting cleaned like a child but he couldn't muster the energy to even raise his arm. His energy was completely depleted, trying to take a swing at the night elf had been a terrible idea.

"Good job," Rivanis said softly, standing with a nearly empty bowl. Vael frowned in return.

"_Pat __my __head __while __you're __at __it,__"_ He mumbled sleepily.

Rivanis gave him a small smile, he didn't understand what he had said but he had a pretty good idea what it could mean.

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><p>First thanks very much for the reviews! They were inspirational and made me pretty happy, thank you for taking the time to write them. C:<p>

This week and the next are finals week. I didn't know it was going to be so busy being my first semester and then having something important due every day this week. Expect an update at least once a week after next Wednesday, phew!

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft.

"Common."

_"Assigned language."_

* * *

><p>Vael blinked slowly at the sight of rain pouring down. He had woken up a couple of hours ago due to another nightmare, which had become a daily thing for him. This one had served as a reminder of his inability to save the people that actually mattered. Like all the other ones, but not as straight forward. He couldn't remember half of it even though it left him covered in sweat and goosebumps.<p>

He hummed thoughtful and rolled to his side, frowning when a dull throbbing sensation awoke. The sin'dorei immediately froze when his blue eyes fell on the form sitting across him. Rivanis had his arms in front of his chest, but other than that his slumped and relaxed form indicated he was sleeping. Or pretending to be.

"Pst."

Silver eyes snapped wide open, unsure and startled, Vael fought back a chuckle. The week had ended without further incidents and the two elves had even come to a truce of sorts. Vael had stopped putting up a resistance by the second meal, his hunger usually winning and the food was exquisite. In return Rivanis actually talked to him, which might have been nothing really but it kept him sane. After long weeks of being confined to a dark, cold dungeon it was highly welcomed.

Rivanis stood up groaning and rubbing the back of his sore neck. He rolled his shoulders to ease the muscles and then yawned. Vael noticed he had fangs, actually long and pointy ones, and he unconsciously ran his tongue over his own teeth to compare. They both stared at each other for a second before resuming what had become the daily routine.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

Vael didn't answer and Rivanis knew better than to expect one. The past couple of days had been like pulling teeth. It was as if the blood elf had resolved to make every moment difficult. The night elf did not threaten to poke him with a needle as often as he should, he was not that kind of person, and that alone made him wonder if that's why the High Priestess had asked him to take the job.

"Bath time," he announced out of the blue. Vael cocked an eyebrow and then afterwards looked at him questioningly. "You need it."

"I can manage that," he replied. "By myself."

An uncomfortable silence settled between them, it wasn't uncommon to share those moments but lately they formed when habits, like eating and getting dressed, proved too difficult to manage in his current condition.

"I'm sorry but I can't risk that."

Vael gave him a dirty look then, if he had a dagger he would have gone for the throat.

"What do you mean 'risk?' I can groom myself without your help." He unconsciously began to creep away from the kaldorei.

"What I mean is, I don't know what your mental being is like at the moment. You may look lucid but I can't risk any... unfortunate accidents."

"I'm fine, and I won't kill myself if that's what you're suggesting." Though he had thought about it recently. Rivanis patiently shook his head and grasped Vael's arm, taking advantage of his healthy strength to drag him out. He then proceeded to half-drag half-carry the blood elf to the next room, where a large tub full of water awaited.

Vael struggled every step of the way, knowing that it was in vain and briefly rejoiced as a well aimed kick to the knee connected and threw the night elf off balance. His victory was short lived however as he lost his balance too and ended up splashing into the bathtub with his legs sprawled over the side. He resurfaced sputtering a string of curses in Thalassian, mainly aimed at Rivanis but the kaldorei ignored it.

Holy hell the water was freezing. His teeth started chattering soon afterwards and every time he started crawling out the tub Rivanis simply pushed him back into it.

"Cold," he whined pitifully, holding his knees tightly against his chest. He was going to kill this night elf one day.

"Ah... woops," Rivanis gave him a sheepish smile and threw a tiny red sphere into the water. Nearly instantly the temperature rose to a comfortable warm level.

"Wo-o-ops? S-s-eriously? I could have died from sh-sh-ock and that's all you s-s-ay?" He rubbed the side of his legs to attempt to create warmth but all he got were small waves and loosened bandages. "Eck." Vael started to forcefully unbind the cloth, small flakes of dried blood chipped off onto the water.

"You're worse than my brother when he first got his cat form," Rivanis massaged the bridge of his nose. "Stop that," he slapped Vael's hands off the bandage. The sin'dorei swung at him in return and Rivanis easily dodged it. He tossed the blood elf a quick soothing spell and was pleased to find it didn't bounce out. "Do you know the purpose of these runes?"

Vael ignored him after that and Rivanis did not push the question. The druid gently scrubbed the other elf's back, taking his time to go over the patterns and symbols. They glowed a faint blue with the same substance that had clouded the fel green from his eyes. And it was everywhere.

Vael had felt a similar helplessness back in the citadel and while his current situation was not terrible he wanted to be the one in control, the one to decide what to eat and how to do it and definitely the one to scrub the grime off his own skin. It was as if his body had stopped belonging to him the minute he got captured, or kidnapped.

Brief memories from the wretched day resurfaced. His sister's perfectly sculptured face lit into a mischievous smile as she pointed to somewhere on a map. _"We'll be traveling in a caravan isn't that cool? How often does that happen? I can't believe they agreed to this,"_ she bursted into laughter, showing her pearly white teeth. Who agreed to what?

As if responding to his question his memory shifted to a new story. He recognized his own voice as it replayed in his mind.

"It will only take a week, just in time for your match. Besides portals are boring."

The orc in front of him rolled his eyes.

"I prefer portals. It's unnecessary suffering, lots of bugs as you pass Terokkar," he replied as he loaded bags onto a large drake. A large blue skinned troll came forward with a large toothy grin on his face.

"I'll go mon, how ya got Cass to come though? Thought she too upity mighty for da good stuff,"

"Her younger sister." Vael replied and simply left it at that. They both shared a knowing grin.

"Vael!"

He was abruptly brought back to reality by a persistent voice. Startled he looked around, completely disoriented.

"I insisted they come," he whispered, his voice dry and monotone.

"...what?"

Vael stared off into space, unaware that he was lying on the bed now fully dressed in light clothing. His mind kept haunting him in a way that was worse than his nightmares. He could hear his companions scream in fear, pain, horror...

"Take a deep breath," Rivanis told him gently. The blood elf shook his head and avoided his gaze.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, staring at the door as if it held the answers he sought.

"Then why are you shaking?"

He was right, he had been shaking. In a violently obvious way. Vael closed his eyes and willed the echos silent. He opened them again to find the druid patiently waiting for him with a genuinely worried expression.

"What?" he asked him tiredly.

"Don't act like nothing is wrong," Rivani started. "Trauma is more common than you think."

"You think I'm traumatized?"

"..."

Vael fidgeted in place, wiggling his toes in order to avoid looking at him in the eye. He was so utterly confused and lost in his present being.

"How did I get here?" He asked, running his hand on his arm. The bandages were off, he had stopped oozing blood a day ago but the balm had stayed in order to prevent an infection. He didn't recall the moment Rivanis had applied it, too lost in his miserable flashback.

"My brother dropped you off," he told him again. "After a successful raid in the Citadel."

Gaps had been left in his memory, some of it was fuzzy and other parts were completely blank or very clear. He remembered being injected with a blue liquid that was so cold it had burned his veins. Vael instinctively glanced down at his arm and frowned. He had not been tattooed with a codename but instead branded with a serial number. G.. A desire to hide it overcame him but he did not act on it.

"Who else is alive?"

Rivanis's expression remained blank. He did not like to lie but he also did not feel the need to keep the sin'dorei informed as his brother did with him.

"I don't know."

Vael exhaled, preferring that answer than the one he had in mind. He didn't want to know the answer to that, yet part of him was dying for it. To hope his cousins and sister to be alive was childish and far too optimistic.

Lighting rolled far off in the distance and the rain started coming down harder. Time slowly trickled by and before he knew it dinner had arrived. The food that came in were things he could hold and chew, like bread and cheese or fruits. Much of it had been fruits, though Rivanis was carefully introducing meat. That part he was being fed of course as Rivanis clearly did not trust him with a knife. Vael didn't trust himself with a knife either, the temptation was too great to ignore. Given the chance he would quickly join his teammates.

* * *

><p>Again thanks a bunch for the reviews! It's definitely encouraging. :'D<p>

Don't forget to leave a review, opinions or comments. Don't be afraid to point stuff out to me, I strive for improvement.

Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft.

"Common."

_"Assigned language."_

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><p>Yet another bleary, muggy day. It was driving him insane. He was used to the everlasting summer and Silvermoon's rich golden colors. All this green, cold and night elves were getting to him. Vael yawned and stretched, grimacing as a sharp pain forced him to stop mid-yawn.<p>

"Fuck me," he whined, letting his head fall limp to the side. His eyes bore down on a leather bound book on the table. Ali had been reading to him myths and stories, mainly about a hero that got punished or rewarded for following Elune's wishes. Most of them didn't make sense, the other half he was sure were made to scare children so they wouldn't rebel.

A flurry of steps raced through the doorway with the sound of the door being shut abruptly. Ali was breathing hard with her back against the door as if a wild worg had been chasing her.

"Oh. My. Gosh."

He inwardly rolled his eyes but tilted his head to give her his attention. She looked frightened, but over a couple of days he had found the girl tended to exaggerate everything.

"Is the tree burning?" He asked out of pure boredom.

"No! I don't mean to be the carrier of bad news," she tip-toed closer to him, hunching her back as if to avoid a wave of arrows. "But my other Uncle is here," she whispered, eyes going wide.

An uncomfortable sensation settled in his abdomen. The sin'dorei did not have to ask who her other Uncle was, they had been introduced in the first round during the first season and he had left with claw scars over his stomach as a souvenir. It was a well known fact that Kanyr hated blood elves, the Horde in general but blood elves took first place, for killing his mate as the rumor went.

"Not here yet, but will be I mean!" she didn't know what to do with her hands, so she waved them rapidly as if to soothe a fire.

The door creaking announced a new guest and Vael shifted his gaze half expecting the youngest of the kal'dorei brothers at the entrance with an axe. He relaxed when he saw it was just his caretaker with a fresh roll of bandages in hand.

"Ali what are you still doing here? Go to school you're late," he said with disapproval clear in his voice.

"Urgh Uncleee I hate that school! It's not even the school it's the people, do I have to remind you how I lost all my notes to the cascade south of Nighthaven? I should be studying with mom in Darnassus, I mean how often do you teach a priestess to do druid stuff? They expect me to be able to regrow skin, and my worst teacher, whom I won't mention, even punished me because I can't shift. Can you believe that?"

Rivanis's silvery eyes told her he wasn't buying it, but he was listening.

"Stop stalling and go." With that he turned to Vael, examining his physical appearance briefly. Ali looked at the ceiling out of desperation, turned around and then stomped away, grumbling about no one listening to her misfortune.

"So I'm in Moonglade? How did I not know, the weather here is terrible," Vael said, staring out the window. It looked like it was getting ready to rain again. Rivanis frowned, not pleased that he had found that tiny bit of information but then dismissed his anger, deeming it minor and foolish.

He was displeased because his dear younger brother had decided to return home after a year long absence. Grandma had probably threatened him, he figured.

"Good morning, you look... worse than yesterday. Your health was improving though, why the sudden change?"

"You really expect me to answer that?" he asked, raising a long blonde eyebrow. Rivanis held his right arm to take his pulse, closing his eyes to focus. Then out of nowhere the answer hit the blonde. His eyes widened slightly at the realization that he had gone an entire week and a half or more without a drop of fel. He licked his lips at the thought of fresh fel energy, he had nearly forgotten about that. Nearly.

"Thirsty?" the night elf asked, still concentrating.

"You have no idea," he replied. The corners of his mouth twitched downwards as another thought invaded his mind. What if Rivanis ignored that need? It was definitely a possibility, though he was certain the druid had warlock friends.

Rivanis broke contact to get up and pour him some water from the pitcher that was always at the table. He had never seen it being refilled so he assumed it was enchanted as well. For a night elf he was very fond of magic, Vael noted.

He was taken by surprise when the kal'dorei handed him the cup of water, instead of holding it for him to sip from. He gratefully took it with both hands and drank slowly, the pleasant cold liquid tickled his throat but did nothing to appease to burning hunger.

"I need a fel crystal." he rubbed his toes together, trying to warm his feet. He looked up and noticed Rivanis was very still, staring at him.

"I thought the Sunwell was restored..." he trailed off only to confirm that thought in his head. He was right, it had been brought back, there should be no reason blood elves were still feeding off fel energy. Unless it was voluntary. Rivanis focused on the sin'dorei again and deemed the idea a possibility.

"You say it as if the day after we were having the Light for breakfast. It doesn't work that way," Vael replied. He really did not want to explain how the modern blood elf worked. Before, magic and a high amount of fel energy could satisfy the absence of Light. He hadn't lived near the Sunwell long enough for the addiction to kill him afterwards, like with his parents and those before them. They only noticed something was 'missing' after it got destroyed. Then everything and their dog started feeding off anything they could such as fel energy, mana, and even elemental energy.

"Aren't you a paladin of the Light..." Rivanis pressed, somewhat confused and half knowing what was going on. Vael gave him a blank stare he couldn't quite decipher. The night elf sighed patiently and then turned to leave. "Well I do hope a mana potion helps."

"It won't."

Rivanis turned to face him then, frowning ever so slightly. Vael shifted his weight, uncomfortable with the way his ex-rival was looking at him. He did not like where this was going, it was shameful and to a minor point embarrassing. He was used to the embarrassing situations however, so he swallowed his pride and continued.

"If you're going to feed me mana, it has to be fresh," his voice was slow and unsteady.

"Fresh? As in from a living source?" The sin'dorei nodded. "I cannot go around kidnapping people, what else works?"

"Fel crystals, well fel energy in general," he shut his mouth when the night elf glared at him. Rivanis did not mean to give him such a threatening look, but he didn't want to ask around for either of those. He knew some warlocks but not to the extend of buying their demonic energy off them. The other one he still talked to was a close friend, but not someone he would tell Vael about. His patient was a secret even to most of his family. And that raised another problem.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Rivanis started thinking about next week and the ridiculous human celebrated holiday, Pilgrim's Bounty. Most of their friends were human and this year they were hosting it.

"That won't work either," he stated at last. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, looking at the blood elf intently.

Vael absolutely hated when he did that. It was a recently found pet peeve of his, though anything the kaldorei did annoyed him, but this one gesture made him nervous. Was he looking at him or lost deep in thought? He ran a hand through his hair out of lack of anything to do. The grime was no longer there, and for that he was partially thankful. It still wasn't as silky as it used to be and that bothered him. Was Rivanis judging him now? He knew the look when it was directed at his kind. It wasn't his fault he was born an addict.

"I'll look into it, I'm sure a couple of more days won't kill you," Vael could hear the tiny bit of uncertainty in his voice. "For now breakfast."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Vael wasn't sure he could last 'a couple of more days.' This was a new record for him, he never managed to stay clean for more than two days. He hadn't been this addicted before, he had to thank his father for that.

Who feeds their child fel crystals? The drunken idiot had thought that would help 'man him up.' Only thing it did was launch him into a new wave of trouble.

He traced the glyphs on his arm and admitted that he liked the color. It was a vibrant blue that reminded him the way light reflected underwater. Vael knew their purpose had been to increase the strength in his arms but now they were utterly useless. His mood took a downfall as his eyes scanned the rest of his body. It was all going to scar, he was sure of it.

"Alright water is ready. Can you stand?" Rivanis walked out of the washroom with a fluffy white towel on his shoulder. Vael had found out earlier it was enchanted, like every other thing in the room, to disinfect and so stung quite a bit when he was enveloped in it. He hated the damn thing.

"Somewhat," he replied, tossing the sheets off his wounded form. The cold evening air assaulted his vulnerable skin, causing goosebumps to rise along the side of his arm and legs. He shivered involuntarily and took Rivanis's hand when he offered it. By now he had gotten used to being in his presence and being nude did not bothered him, it only became a problem when the younger elven girl bursted into the room without warning.

It pained him greatly to walk such a short distance. Runes had been carved at the sole of his feet with the deepest incisions at the ball and heel. He knew it had been done that way on purpose, to keep him from running too far.

Vael leaned closer to the night elf, seeking the warmth rather than the stability. He shivered from the cold and then again when he stuck a leg in the warm water. He turned to face Rivanis when somewhere in the cold air, a whiff of a familiar scent reached his nostrils. Oh it was heavenly.

His eyes fell on the kaldorei's neck and moved downwards to his arm. With his hands he started prodding gently, feeling the pulse on his fingertips and stopping when he reached a particular vein pulsed loudly.

"What are you doing?" Rivanis asked, completely lost. Vael snapped out of his reverie, shaking his head as a reply before giving him a weak smile.

"Playing doctor," he chuckled faintly before being gently submerged in warm water. His thoughts kept jumping back to the mana pulsing under the warm skin, it had been close he could almost taste it. Vael frowned and scowled, mentally berating himself for nearly giving in. "So how am I supposed to survive your brother?"

Rivanis stopped massaging the shampoo into his scalp, though by the look on the other's face he was not fully present at the time.

"How do you know... never mind I know the answer to that," he let out a heavy sigh and added a note to talk to his niece about it. He resumed his actions, carefully rubbing the slippery substance in the hair while Vael scrapped everything else. "I don't hold secrets from my bothers. He will understand." he replied. _'Highly doubt it.'_ "Water's getting cold, get up."

Rivanis covered the elf in the large fluffy towel. Vael immediately jumped and hissed, trying to move away and knowing nothing would work. He was too tired from trying not to think about his burning hunger, and the air slapped him with a fresh current that made him shiver all over. The only heat source available less than a foot away was the tall night elf but he wasn't about to take any chances. Though he did wonder what the reaction would be if he jumped him.

"What's with that look?"

"I'm cold."

oOoOoOoOOoOoO

"And so Elune granted him nine lives for saving her chosen. And that's that for now," Ali closed the book triumphantly, her trademark smile on her face. "See? The hero gets rewarded most of the time. Until they piss her off, in that case they usually end up dying."

"I thought She's supposed to be all-forgiving? And nine lives? Why not eternal life that's more of a reward," he said in a soft voice. The girl had not given up even after he had verbally attacked her earlier for... well he couldn't remember what it had been that time. He was getting more aggravated at himself, the thirst had started eating away at his sanity. Vael closed his eyes and recited a brief prayer to the Light since he had found it helped a bit. It was in times like these that he wished he had finished his training instead of jumping into the first opportunity of money making.

"She is but someone had to be the unlucky fella otherwise the book would be boring. So do you have a plan yet?" she asked casually, putting the book back on the table. She fixed the fabric of her long orange-red skirt before giving him her full undivided and eager attention.

"For what?" he mumbled, frowning in confusion.

"Uncle K."

Oh right, the dreaded uncle, Kanyr. If he was still alive and sane by the time he arrived at the treehouse then he would get up and go greet him, that had been his first idea. The second one involved promising anything for a drop of demonic energy. His hand twitched at the thought of the tasty green liquid.

They both looked at each other in confusion as a thin blue cord appeared from the sheets to hold his wrist still. His brows furrowed as he gently tugged at it and found the cord fully solid. A few seconds passed before the magical string deemed the situation under control and vanished._ 'Huh, so it's a faulty product.'_

"That was weird, you weren't trying to kill me that time. Oh were you thinking it?" Her eyes widened and she eagerly awaited a response.

"Where's your Uncle?"

"On his way to your funeral," she replied jokingly, thinking he had asked about Kanyr. Her smile faltered when he didn't share it. "I'm sorry that was terrible... Uncle Riv's out getting fruits."

"Shouldn't you be doing your homework?" She blinked in surprised.

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

"I want peace and quiet." He replied bluntly. That was a lie he didn't mind her pestering presence sometimes, anything was better than his solitude, but right now a plan as forming in his head and he wanted to try it out.

As expected she got up, stuck her tongue out at him and closed the door behind her. 'That was easy,' he thought, expecting her to come back just to annoy him.

Slowly as to not alert the strings, Vael sat up and got up, leaning his body against the wall. It was still chilly and he shuddered but was very content at having nothing hold him back. He wondered if that was what Rivanis had intended, he highly doubted it and thanked the Light that something was in his favor, for once.

The blood elf peeked out the window and was relieved to find no one looking at him. He could hear an owl in the distance and a couple of squirrels fighting over food. His eyes twinkled when he saw that the tree in front was not as far as he thought, he could possible even climb to it through the branch. Then jump down its bark and run out towards freedom. Or something that had mana.

He made up his mind then. Once he had enough strength to run, he was getting out of here.

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><p>Happy Holidays! Boy it's been busy and chaotic, but the food was so worth it.<p>

Thanks very much for the reviews! I'll be making them longer as I come up with more stuffs to talk about.

By the way Mature Warning for next chapter, not super uber explicit (yetcough) but just thought I would give a heads up. Don't want anyone freaking out afterwards or anything. .

And for whatever reason the format in my last chapter likes to either eat words, or bunch them up together. Vael has G. U. III branded on his arm I don't know why it got eaten up. -Shrug-

Thanks for reading!


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